Plus: The Shenzhou-20 crew's suspenseful trip home
By Dan Robitzski
What's driving some of the largest programs in NASA's budget? China.
Similarly, what's motivating the Space Force to change its capabilities in space? Also, China.
China is the focal point to so many space conversations. Golden Dome. Cybersecurity. Space sustainability. And of course the moon.
America leads in many aspects of space. But a new 745 page Annual Report to Congress by the bipartisan U.S. China Economic and Security Review Commission released Nov. 18 says China is closing that gap fast.
"China's rapid advancements in space capabilities should concern every American," the commission writes.
The issue is not China's present-day capabilities, although the country has recently taken major strides by demonstrating in-space refueling capabilities and dual use technology. Rather, the main concern is the overall architecture of China's space industry, where the civil, commercial and military aspects of missions and technology development are (nearly) one and the same.
Here's how SpaceNews' Sandra Erwin described the contrast between American and Chinese approaches to space in her coverage of the new report:
"A central theme in the report is China's advantage from an entirely dual use space program. Commercial ventures, state owned enterprises and the military operate as one system, allowing the People's Liberation Army to pull commercial breakthroughs straight into military applications. That edge is most pronounced in counterspace technologies that can disrupt or disable satellites. U.S. commanders view them as tools China could use to blind or confuse the United States at the opening of a crisis.
"The commission notes that Washington spent years avoiding the development of offensive space systems to sidestep accusations of weaponizing orbit. That restraint is fading as China treats space as a warfighting domain. The report points to the Space Force's March 2025 warfighting framework, which puts space superiority at the center of U.S. planning, including offensive and defensive operations to protect critical satellites."
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SIGNIFICANT DIGIT
| 17 | The number of missions Rocket Lab has launched so far this year, breaking the company's record of 16 that it set last year. | | |
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FINALLY HOME
| With launch successes vastly outnumbering failures these days, and both crewed and cargo missions to space stations becoming commonplace and dare I say, routine, it can take a near-disaster to serve as a reminder that visiting space contains a bit of danger. Consider the latest crew transfer at China's Tiangong space station, when something — probably a piece of orbital debris — smashed into the Shenzhou-20 spacecraft and rendered it unfit for use right before the outgoing crew was supposed to use it to get home. That left an unfavorable equation. Two three-person crews at Tiangong — one on its way out and the other just starting its six-month stint — and one return vehicle.
The Shenzhou-20 crew ended up leaving, taking the Shenzhou-21 spacecraft that had just ferried the newer crew to Tiangong and leaving the three astronauts on the space station — commander Zhang Lu and crewmates Zhang Hongzhang and Wu Fei — without an emergency exit. China is now working to send a lifeboat, with plans to launch the Shenzhou-22 spacecraft to Tiangong without a crew on Nov. 17.
By the way, we send out our China Report newsletter every other Wednesday. You can subscribe here to get the latest on China's growing presence in space sent directly to your inbox | | |
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| | Sierra Space has completed key testing milestones for its Dream Chaser vehicle as the company explores both civil and national security missions for the spaceplane.
| | | York Space Systems has taken the formal step toward going public, filing paperwork with U.S. regulators as it looks to tap capital markets.
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| | The head of German space company OHB said he is concerned about a planned joint venture among three of his competitors, even as the company sees new opportunities from growing European space spending.
| | | | The Federal Aviation Administration has ended restrictions on the timing of commercial launches that were triggered by the government shutdown's effects on airspace management.
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